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James Pirnay

EU Political Officer 2009 - 2015

James Pirnay was the IFAW EU Policy Officer for Companion Animals and Animal Action Education.

James helped to find humane solutions for communities in Europe struggling with dog and cat populations. He was also on the Companion Animals Advisory team working on the development, refinement and dissemination of IFAW’s approach to companion animal management.

In 2011, James led the launch of IFAW’s long-standing Animal Action Education (AAE) programme EU-wide, targeting mainly European and International schools across the continent.

Previous work within IFAW includes Seals, Whales, and Wildlife Crime and Consumer Awareness campaigns.

Before joining IFAW, James led an organisation promoting education, participation, and citizenship in Belgian schools.

James holds a BA in Anthropology from the Brussels University and the University of Perugia in Italy. The subject of his thesis was “Anthropomorphism of the dog in Western Culture. Study case: The treatment of its death in pet cemetery”.

At the age of 22 James cycled 17,000 km from Brussels to Cape Town. On his two year journey James helped rescue Bonobos in the Congo. Later, he volunteered to save birds from the Prestige oil spill of the coasts of Galicia in 2002.

James speaks fluent French, English, Italian, Spanish, and has a fair knowledge of Dutch.